A journey of parenthood, instinct, opinion, occasional wisdom and more than a little dysfunction.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Aldi - If You Dare

IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Aldi - If You Dare

* NOT A SPONSORED POST - JUST A RAMBLE

So I've recently discovered the benefits of shopping at Aldi supermarkets. I know. Aldi. It's a whole new world.

I've discovered that I can pretty much cover our weekly food shop with a bit of clever planning, for about a third of what I was spending elsewhere. Seriously, A THIRD. And we're a family of four hungry hippos who live solely in anticipation of our next meal so that's good news all round I reckon. I did the Aldi thing a few times just to try, then what followed was an overwhelming sense of smugness for my new found economic windfall and therefore I've been back for several weeks in a row. Let me tell you, the smugness has not yet dissipated and in fact, it increases every time you step into a mainstream supermarket and get completely fleeced at the checkout.

The checkout. That's where things at Aldi somewhat unravel for me.

Do NOT underestimate the terrifying anticipation of standing in the cashier line at Aldi with a full trolley, knowing you've got about eight seconds to pack all your shit neatly into bags as the sadistic checkout employee scans it at warp speed for their own amusement. The urge to yell, "For the love of God get up out of that damn chair and HELP ME!!!!" is, at times, overwhelming. It is an absolute necessity that any children with you must move away from the check out area, just in case they dare to ask you a question during those crucial eight seconds which will in turn make your head explode. The Aldi cashier experience is where you learn exactly WHY your saving over two thirds on your weekly shop because it's roughly what you need to spend on calmatives after you leave the store. Several crushed eggs, mashed bananas and more than enough exploding punnets of blueberries later, I'm now able to resign myself to madly hurling everything back into the trolley to be re-packed when my nerves subside and I can regain my composure. The good folks at Aldi have even created a bench space for the re-packing to take place so they totally know what they're doing to your stress levels - I have no doubt.

Anyway, I'm in training but I feel confident that I'm either going to return to mainstream shopping on the advice of a therapist or alternatively, I'll persist, wallow further in my smugness and be primed and ready with enough speed and experience to participate in a Grand Prix F1 pit stop in the near future.

1 comment
:

Persist! It is worth it. Yes, I reach the bench and leave Graypa to pack (????) whilst I go to do similar battle at the amazing Asian GreenGrocer + Everything Else next to our Aldi. You haven't lived until you have experienced this place in Centre Road Bentleigh. Savings are amazing compared to shopping in my neighbouhood where one needs to layby a tomato. Cross the line one day and just come to see this place!

I'm Sophie, a mother of two girls who believes the art of motherhood is best learned from the instincts of ourselves, and the wisdom of others. Come on this journey of parenting, life, often misguided opinion and my tendency to be a dysfunctional perfectionist.